MSPs plea to improve train service

Green MSP Ross Greer has written to the Transport Minister to demand improvements to train services in Bearsden and Milngavie.

Mr Greer wrote to Humza Yousaf after he received lots of correspondence from constituents regarding the poor record of Scotrail on trains arriving into Milngavie on time.

The latest Scotrail Performance Update (covering 12 months up to July this year) shows that only 26.4 per cent of trains reach the end of the line at Milngavie on time, the lowest percentage of arrivals of any recorded station in the country.

Greer, MSP for the West of Scotland who is a local resident and former pupil of Bearsden Academy, said: “I’ve written to the Transport minister to urge immediate and meaningful action to improve our local rail services.

“Scotrail’s recent announcement of an increase in passenger satisfaction certainly isn’t reflected in the response of my constituents in Bearsden and Milngavie, who frequently tell me about trains being late, cancelled or missing stops in order to catch up with their timetable.

“This is an area with a large commuter population that relies on a good rail service to Glasgow and beyond.

“Many constituents have been in touch in the days since Scotrail heavily promoted those satisfaction numbers to express their frustration.

“Milngavie and Bearsden needs a reliable rail service.

“It is simply not acceptable that nearly three out of every four services makes it to Milngavie late.

“We need to bring the railways back into public ownership so that they’re run with the needs of passengers, not profits, as top priority.

“The Greens have been calling for this for a long time and the SNP government need to get a move on.

“For the time being I’m asking the minister to intervene and get trains running on time.

“I speak to so many constituents who simply can’t trust their local train service and have no faith in Scotrail to turn it around.